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Brands have a field day mocking Grab’s SG$6 islandwide fare hiccup

Brands such as Scoot, Skyscanner and PolicyPal have taken a swipe at Grab for an incident which saw fares default to SG$6.

Scoot

For Scoot, the airline took a chance to promote its inexpensive air fares to Bangkok. In a Facebook post, the airline subtly referenced the glitch, saying: “It might not be $6, but this is not a glitch! Our fares to Bangkok from $75 are really that low”. The post tickled netizens who caught the referencing, which called Scoot’s swipe on Grab a timely one. Some netizens also praised its marketing team for being “quick, brutal and creative”.

The post garnered around 223 shares, 206 comments and 734 reactions at the time of writing. Scoot’s social media team also continued to display its strong meme game by responding to netizens with witty GIF images and commentary. View it here:

Skyscanner

Also taking the chance to be cheeky was Skyscanner (yes, Skyscanner again), which not only swiped at Grab, but also Scoot’s attempt at promoting its fares. In its social media post, Skyscanner took a chance to promote its price comparison service by listing fares from other airlines which were cheaper than Scoot’s.

PolicyPal

Also refusing to miss out on the action was PolicyPal which also took the chance to promote its $6 travel insurance deals. This time, the company created an image which resembles the in-app design of Grab’s ride booking page. This post garnered around 15 shares and 247 reactions.

Last week, Grab’s mobile app experienced a glitch which caused all fares regardless of destination to cost SG$6 – a move affecting users and drivers. Although the move was welcomed by a majority of riders, Grab drivers were reportedly impacted, with some choosing not to take jobs within the time period of the glitch. In a statement published online, Grab acknowledged the glitch. It said it would honour all rides completed during the period and also compensate all driver-partners who took bookings with lower fares than usual.

Grab is not the only brand to have experienced technical difficulties that week, with McDonald’s being another brand to come under the spotlight for mobile app glitches. This saw several users who installed the fast food brand’s app receiving multiple push notifications promoting the Samurai burger. The move prompted numerous complaints on McDonald’s social media pages and eventually saw the brand giving out its Creamy Herb Chicken Pie for free to curb online anger.

This is also not the first time Scoot and Skyscanner have hopped on the newsjacking bandwagon, with the brands interacted with one previously when Cathay Airlines misspelled its name on one of its planes. Both also commented on a recent viral sensation which saw a saleswoman pushing the sales of a top by using hooks.